Wednesday 12 February 2014 13.18 EST
First published on Wednesday 12 February 2014 13.18 EST

The next generation of designers are pivotal to advancing product sustainability, and Jay Golden is giving them the tools and knowledge to do so. The director of Duke University's Center for Sustainability and Commerce trains his students on the principles of sustainable design and is currently spearheading a range of innovative projects, including designing products that consumers can disassemble and reuse.

In an effort to empower designers and consumers with sustainability knowledge of apparel manufacturing, Golden helped revise the HIGG 2 Index, a free online tool, launched by Nike and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. The index measures the environmental and social impact of different components and allows brands, factories and chemical manufacturers to score the relative sustainability of their products.

Golden has been widely recognised for his work in socially and environmentally conscious business ethics. In this interview, Golden weighs in on trends in sustainable design and what it will take to move these concepts into the mainstream.

What are the new trends and concepts in sustainable design that companies should know about?

An increased need for transparency is the leading trend. Companies now disclose their corporate sustainability reports as routinely as their financial reports; this is wonderful. Now we are moving towards the quantitative aspects of sustainability. Companies seek to understand their first-tier, second-tier suppliers and their suppliers' suppliers.

Companies are acquiring more biological resources for chemicals, energy and packaging without knowing where the resources come from or their full environmental and social impacts. Centers like ours are just now developing the data and tools to track this – a good thing because NGOs, governments and even consumers are requiring more transparency.

My students' generation of consumers can scan a product using their iPhone and use apps like Good Guide to learn the environmental impacts of that product. Curious consumers of American-made jeans will want to know if the company uses US cotton and waterless dyes. Industry will drive this further. The Federal Trade Commission has established laws and regulations for green guides to help deter false sustainability claims.

The business case for transparency is also growing. Walmart, Tesco and Marks & Spencer are motivated by their care for the environment, but also because they are seeking to reduce wasted profit caused by their suppliers (and their suppliers' suppliers) using excessive energy through manufacturing and transporting products. Retailers exceed governments, especially in the US context, at moving and driving lower environmental impacts because it equates to lower costs.

Is there still a knowledge gap between designers and sustainability?

Designers are some of the more attuned professionals to sustainability. Designers are the most capable to make these right decisions, if given the right data. (That's the role of engineers and others to provide them with that data and why the HIGG index excites me as a product.) The ultimate goal of sustainability is entering stores knowing the products are already the best, without needing labeling to tell us.

What will it take to change this gap?

Continued consumer awareness will push this, however, I see a gap among those who want green but are unwilling to pay for it. The Prius and green retailers such as Whole Foods offer small indicators this may be shifting.

Do you believe design can make consumption sustainable?

This is hugely challenging. One way is asking companies to design products that consumers can dissemble and reuse. We train our students to do this because that's ultimately what we want. Consumers queuing for blocks for a new iPhone, when their current phone they stood in line for a year ago remains fully functional, are the antithesis of our goals with sustainability.

The only solution I know of is more companies like Patagonia, who took out big ads during Black Friday to discourage overconsumption among consumers. Their point: stop over consuming – you don't need a new jacket. REI and other companies are exploring taking back items in exchange for coupons.

Heightening consumer awareness is hard for profit-making ventures. I was delighted when Unilever's CEO Paul Polman publicly campaigned against companies reporting quarterly as part of their sustainability plan. The company reasoned quarterly reports drive decisions that potentially have adverse effects on the long-term health of the company and environment. This is a wise approach for any CEO.

How about new materials you see in sustainable design?

Moving towards sustainable design and sustainability has risks. We ask companies to quantify the environmental impact of their product, yet we must consider the unintended consequences. I'm not suggesting we continue with petroleum-based chemistry. However, as we move towards bio-based alternatives, are we over industrializing the land or minimizing its future use? Does the area have drought or malnutrition? We need a higher sustainable systems evaluation, hence citing transparency as a larger design trend.

In terms of packaging materials, innovative designs include replacing round milk cartons with square ones so more can fit effectively onto a pallet, into a truck, therefore using less energy in distribution – Sam's Club drove that trend. Dial Corporation released a biodegradable cardboard box for its Pure and Natural soaps. After you're done with the soap, you bury the biodegradable box. There are seeds inside and a plant will grow in its place.

The other trend is zero waste landfills. Duke University is working with our vendors and suppliers to provide either recyclable or compostable products – which ultimately can mean nothing going to the landfill. Procter & Gamble has stated commitments to the zero waste to landfill initiative. Why? Because they know resources cost money and so does paying someone to dispose of the unused material.

Are you seeing more awareness of end-of-life/circular-economy design?

Another opportunity with end-of-life/circular economy design is for government and private planners. In the Research Triangle Park, here in Raleigh, NC, we've recently launched Project Archie. This takes our iconic technology park, the largest of its kind globally, and connects park residents in new and exciting ways.

For example, a company can use waste materials such as chemicals, cuttings from metals, or even waste heat from another nearby company as a feedstock or energy source in their own operations. In Chandler, Arizona, Intel, the semi-conductor company, purifies and reinjects its water into the ground as reusable groundwater for Chandler residents. I predict more of these land use plans.

What will it take to make some of these movements more mainstream?

Policies, incentives and increased media awareness from well-read publications, such as the Guardian.

Debbi McCullough is a writer, PR specialist and owner of Hanging Rock Media in Cary, North Carolina